Safety video to be must in buses

www.mangaloretoday.com

Bangalore, Nov 1, 2013 (DHNS): The bus accident that took the lives of 45 people on Wednesday has spurred the Transport Department to initiate new measures to ensure safety in state-owned and private buses.

 Taking a cue from the cancer awareness video clips played right before the movie is screened in a hall, the state Transport Department will now instruct both government and private buses to play video clips to create awareness about emergency exits.

 

Officials in the department say that in order to generate awareness among the passengers regarding the emergency exits in the bus, a video clip will be played for them in the buses. In fact, the Transport Department is now going to make it mandatory for all the air conditioned (AC) buses, both state-run and private, to first play a video educating the passengers on where the emergency exits are located and how to use the exits in case of any emergency situation.

Officials in the department say that before the journey commences, a video clip on safety will be shown.

For the non-AC coaches, which usually do not have a video playing facility, the drivers have been asked to educate the passengers first about the emergency doors and windows before they embark on the journey.

This is in addition to the measures such as installing red bulbs to indicate where the emergency exits are located in the bus, displaying properly the emergency exits in the bus, etc.

Speaking with Deccan Herald, Principal Secretary (Transport) P Ravi Kumar said, “The idea is to ensure that all the passengers are well aware of where the emergency exits are located in the bus, whether its an emergency door or an emergency window or a roof as different buses have these exits located at different places.  We are going to do all we can do prevent a tragedy like this in future”.

On being asked if the private buses will follow the guidelines, he said that the respective transport officials will keep a regular check on the buses.